Some Thoughts Regarding the November Nine Concept

For the first time in the history of the World Series of Poker, Harrahs decided to delay the final table of the WSOP. They did this in a move that was supposed to bring more exposure to the World Series of Poker and bring bigger marketing opportunities to the participants.

Some people, Daniel Negreanu being on of them, really like the fact that Harrah’s did this. Other people, like me, don’t really like the idea. Some people think that it is because I am adverse to change. That is not the case at all. If that was the case, I wouldn’t even play at the WSOP or the Circuit.

My biggest concern is about the integrity of the game in general. I recently saw a promotion on PokerStars that allows players to play for a “piece” of the participants. Now I wonder how much these players are getting from PokerStars for this promotion. I will almost bet you that it is more than the money that they will give up. Also, will this adversely affect the way they play at the table? I know that this is a simplistic example, but look at it from another angle.

What type of deals do you think these guys have setup now? Since PokerStars has the rights to 6 of the 9 players at the final table, they are in control of effectively 66% of the prize pool. How do we know for a fact that they haven’t decided to play as a collective group to eliminate the other players early in an attempt to have PokerStars players take the top 6 in prize money?

How can we be certain some type of fix doesn’t get instituted? Don’t say because it is being taped. I can think of several scenarios that can arise where the game could still be thrown without a single “fishy” hand occurring. Granted, I sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it could happen.

Also, where’s all of the promotion that is supposed to take place for all of the “November Nine.” They said that there would be media tours, appearances on talk shows, and other promotion via media outlets. Outside of poker sites and ESPN, I personally haven’t heard a word. I had one of the floor staff from the WSOP ask me if I had heard anything about this. Of course, I had not.

Personally, I think that this experiment for the final table has been a huge blunder. Trying to shake things up can sometimes be a good thing, but delaying the final table for four months was a bit excessive. Maybe a modified version could be instituted for next year, such as maybe a delay of a month. Another option would be to go back to leaving well enough alone. The program was still wildly popular and the overall popularity of poker was fine. Of course, we will have to wait until November to see what the final ratings say, but I believe that next year the final table will be played out at its proper time.